Vidas Cruzadas

I really enjoyed this movie. The film has this touching relationship between Heather Graham's character and the young man obsessed with capturing her in photos. At first, I was afraid it was borderline stalking, and I kept on waiting for something bad to happen to the young man. Gradually, the boy's photos reveals something deep and personal about Heather Graham's character. When they do finally meet, the outcome is surprising. All the actors put in good performances, especially Heather Graham. If you like character driven movies, then this movie will appeal to you. I also like the pacing of the film. It's slow and methodical. Often films rush through their stories, but this one takes its time.

**SPOILERS*** Originally called "1/9" or the NYC Seventh Avenue subway line that runs the length of Manhattan Island and ends at the tip of The Battery "Adrift in Manhattan" connects three lonely people who live along its route.

20 year old camera store worker Simon Colon, Victor Rasuk, is obsessed in photographing people on the streets, as well as subways, of New York. One day Simon comes across this lady sitting in the park and becomes infatuated with her multi-colored, or rainbow, scarf.The lady in question Rose Phipps, Heather Graham, becomes very agitated, and even frightened, when Simon mails a number of photos he took of her at her brownstone.

We never quite get what Simon's reasons for mailing his secretly taken photos of Rose were but it almost gets him fired from his job. Instead Rose soon becomes almost as infatuated with Simon as he's with her to the point of inviting him into her home and, to Simon's utter surprise and delight, forces him, a virgin, to make love to her!

Like Simon we soon find out that Rose is not all there, emotionally, in that she's estranged from his husband high school teacher Mark, William Baldwin, and is suffering from a deep depression in the tragic loss of her and Mark's two year-old son Casey, Leim De Villa. Rose's sexual relationship with Simon soon starts to effect her work as an eye doctor in her treating a patient of her's the refined elderly and cultured gentleman Tommaso Pensara, Dominic Chianese.

Tommaso is slowly losing his sight and in him loving to paint that's as well has him receiving a slow and painful death sentence. Tommaso is also in danger of losing his job in the mail room in that he can't see the letters and packages in order to correctly distribute them. It's Tommaso's co-worker Isabel Parades, Elizabeth Pena, who not only takes the time to help him out at his job but cover up all his mistakes. Isabel also falls in love with the some 75 year old bachelor who for the first time in years feel that he's wanted for himself not his talents; in his music and his art.

All three main characters, Rose Simon and Tommaso, in the movie interconnect with each other due to their proximity to the 1/9 subway line. And it's that very reason that makes their lonely and desperate lives, who are aimlessly adrift in Manhattan, that much more worth living!

I enjoyed the movie. Didn't expect a lot and was pleasantly surprised by the storyline, the characters and the development. It is one of the movies that doesn't give enough information about the characters (on purpose) so that it leaves you with questions and wanting more. The inter relation between the characters is extremely light so that normally annoying feature actually added to this film.

Some of the features of the movie are a little disturbing but I wouldn't consider them weird enough to prevent most people from enjoying the movie.

For me a 7 means I enjoyed it and would definitely watch it again. I just wouldn't be thrilled to have paid $10 to see it.

Had potential, but falls short of being profound, emotional or interesting. Some nice moments but that's about it.

Adrift in Manhattan is a small, lovingly made, melancholy film about the intersecting lives of various emotionally wounded people in Manhattan. As I watched the film though, I felt something was "off." Then I realized it, the Manhattan in this movie is much too quiet. I lived in Manhattan for years and one of my overriding memories of it is the constant noise; sirens, garbage trucks, horns honking, boom boxes, crazy people yelling, etc. Yet, in this film Manhattan is a quiet, dignified place. If only! I wonder what the film would have been like if it actually had the background noise that's so much a part of the city. I think it would have improved the film and made the characters' loneliness all the more poignant.